No one will argue that the key to losing weight lies within an individual’s lifestyle choices—particularly their diet and exercise habits. Eating nutritious meals, drinking more water, and exercising on a consistent basis will improve your health. It sounds simple, but most know that it’s easier said than done.
Inevitably, people are going to meet obstacles when trying to reach their weight loss goals. Among the most common of these obstacles is the dreaded plateau—meaning that despite doing all of the things you’re supposed to do in order to lose weight, the number on the scale stays the same. Frustrated and demoralized, this is where many start to fall back into old habits.
Sound familiar? Whether you’ve experienced a plateau in the past or are currently trying to fight through one, hope is not lost. Perlis MedSpa & Wellness Center can help by pairing you with highly trained weight loss experts—each capable of providing professional guidance and personalized, advanced weight loss treatment in Highland Park.
One of our newest advancements that we’re proud to share with our patients across the North Shore is Semaglutide. Read on to learn more about how this treatment can boost your weight loss into high gear and help you push past plateaus!
First Thing’s First: Why Is Losing Weight So Difficult?
From body types and physiques to lifestyles and goals (and so much more) every person is unique—and as a result, so is their weight loss journey.
This means that some people may find it relatively easy to shed pounds and reach their ideal weight. For most people, however, that is not the case. Some of you reading this blog can personally attest to just how difficult losing weight can be. Even those who see success often find that maintaining those results isn’t much easier.
The idea of stepping on the scale and hitting that special number—whatever it may be— is thrilling. But the journey to get there can be long, lonely, and littered with moments of both triumph and frustration.
In theory, losing weight is incredibly simple. If you consistently burn more calories on a day-to-day basis than you consume through food and drinks, you will lose weight. That’s why it’s common knowledge that a person’s diet and exercise habits will always be the most critical components in achieving their desired results.
But if eating healthy and exercising on a consistent basis were as easy as it sounds, then the United States probably wouldn’t have an adult obesity rate of over 40%!
Common Weight Loss Pitfalls
What some people don’t realize is that losing weight—whether on your own or with weight loss treatment in Highland Park—is just as much of a mental challenge as it is a physical one, if not more.
Maybe the most obvious example is the temptations that you’ll face in everyday life, even if you’ve tried your best to avoid them. It’s hard to make healthy choices when someone brings cake to the office to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday, or when your best friends decide that happy hour tonight is a must.
But for many, the far more frustrating example is hitting that plateau we mentioned. As they start making lifestyle changes in order to lose weight, a large percentage of people will step on the scale and see immediate progress. Drinking plenty of water, exercising consistently and substituting salty/sugary foods and carbohydrates all cause your body to expel its excess water weight—and the results of these choices show up quickly on the scale
However, as much as we’d like to say otherwise, you won’t continue losing pounds at that rate for very long. Your weight will naturally fluctuate regardless, so make sure to adequately space out your weigh-ins for more accurate measurements. That progress will slowly become more incremental as the days and weeks go on.
Weight Loss Plateaus
Eventually, chances are relatively high that you’ll step on the scale one day and notice you haven’t lost any weight since your last measurement. In fact, the scale may even indicate that you’ve actually gained weight during that time frame—even though you’ve continued to follow your plan as diligently as possible.
It’s demoralizing. You’ve followed your plan and sacrifices to ensure that you reach your goal, yet the results aren’t showing. This is called a weight loss plateau, and they’re actually very common. But if a person doesn’t have that knowledge, it’s easy for them to feel like all of their hard work was for nothing.
Unfortunately, that’s when many people fall back into their old habits and, in some cases, completely undo all of the progress they made in that time. They may come to the conclusion that they’ll never get to their ideal weight through diet and exercise, so why even bother?
That’s where Semaglutide and personalized weight loss treatment in Highland Park at Perlis MedSpa & Wellness Center comes in.
What is Semaglutide?
Semaglutide has been around for several years. It was originally developed as a treatment for patients with Type 2 Diabetes and is still primarily used for this purpose. What makes Semaglutide effective in this area is its ability to help individuals whose bodies cannot use insulin normally—specifically by controlling the body’s blood sugar levels.
In scientific terms, Semaglutide is known as a “Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist.” To put in layman’s terms, that means it mimics the action of the same existing peptide that naturally occurs within your body. If this peptide works properly, it assists your body in its natural production of insulin by increasing both secretion and blood sugar disposal
When working properly, this peptide specifically helps with your body’s natural insulin production by improving the body’s ability to increase insulin secretion. At the same time, it also helps increase blood sugar disposal and improve glycemic control.
Semaglutide for Weight Loss
What makes Semaglutide highly effective as a weight loss treatment in Highland Park is its ability to increase the body’s insulin secretion. When your body produces more insulin, it helps you to feel more full during meals and greatly reduces the likelihood of overeating. At the same time, your body also decreases its gastric emptying, which significantly slows the rate in which your body digests food.
We often tell our patients that when using Semaglutide, you can expect finishing meals to become much more difficult. We usually recommend eating in much smaller portions to avoid letting anything go to waste!
If patients are a good candidate for Semaglutide at Perlis MedSpa & Wellness Center, they can expect to take the solution via small skin injections (much like the ones used for botox injections) following an initial consultation with their provider. Semaglutide is not a stimulant, and it’s also not a metabolism booster. This means that you should feel more satisfied with smaller meals, and that you won’t have to worry about side effects like jitteriness or increased heart rate.
What to Expect Using Semaglutide
With its ability to decrease appetite and increase fullness, Semaglutide is a great way to kick your weight loss into high gear in the event you reach a plateau. When combined with a specialized diet and weight loss program, patients can lose anywhere from 8 to 15 pounds in just one month!
With that said, Semaglutide is not a stand alone weight loss medication. Taking Semaglutide suppresses your appetite and is the first step to decreasing your weight, and helping you with appetite.
However, taking Semaglutide as part of a larger, medically supervised diet and exercise program can lead to healthy, sustainable weight loss results. Most people are suitable candidates for Semaglutide, but those with thyroid cancer should avoid receiving treatment. Semaglutide, in very rare cases, has also been shown to increase a person’s risk of developing pancreatitis.
If you choose to schedule an appointment to begin Semaglutide injections, you can expect to meet with a provider for a consultation before starting.This helps ensure not only that Semaglutide will make a healthy addition to your weight loss plan, but that it will also work with your goals and lifestyle.
Weight loss and maintenance is a lifelong journey, and our team strongly believes in being with our patients throughout. We aren’t here to just give you an injection that helps you lose weight for a while. Instead, we want to work with you to ensure total health and wellness for years to come.
Semaglutide & Hormone Therapy
Every treatment plan at Perlis MedSpa & Wellness Center is completely tailored to the unique goals and needs of our patients. While some may not need it, we’ve found that bio-identical hormone replacement therapy pairs very well with Semaglutide injections as part of a larger weight loss treatment plan.
Particularly as you age, your hormones can play a significant role in both your overall weight and your ability to lose it. This is especially true of your thyroid hormone. Hormone levels naturally start to decline between the ages of 40 to 50, which can lead to noticeable effects on both your physical and mental health.
Many people with hormonal imbalances see decreases to their energy and motivation levels as a result. On top of that, hormones also play a huge factor in your body’s metabolic process. When you have an imbalance, it can make things hard on your body in terms of naturally burning calories. When you don’t have enough energy and your body isn’t burning calories at a high rate, it’s easy to see why many people gain weight and body fat as they age.
Combining BHRT with your weight loss treatment in Highland Park can help you not only shed pounds, but improve your overall health and wellbeing!
Start Your Weight Loss Treatment in Highland Park!
Perlis MedSpa & Wellness Center is the premier medspa experience in all of the North Shore of Chicago. From our office in Highland Park, we’ve helped hundreds of patients improve both the way they look and the way they feel.
Our highly trained, experienced team of professionals ensures that every patient receives the care and support they deserve. If you’ve struggled to lose weight or keep your appetite in check, we can help determine if Semaglutide injections are right for you.
If you’re ready to push past a plateau or kick your weight loss into high gear, reach out to us today! Use our virtual consultation tool or schedule an in-person appointment and see the difference our team can make.